Hundreds attend candlelight vigil for crash victims

Hundreds gathered in the 400 Block Monday night to remember two lives lost too soon.

"It's been really rough, an emotional rollercoaster," said .

Friday morning, a car carrying 10 young people rolled over on Highway 52.

The crash injured everyone inside and killed two 12-year-old girls: Reighlee Stevenson of Oshkosh and Deserae Landowski of Wausau.

It's those two the community honored.

"Torn apart," said Latisha Debroux, Deserae Landowski's aunt. "It's been really hard for everyone, [Deserae] was a loving bright girl full of energy, an amazing high spirited personality. Always had a smile on her face."

"Her beauty, [Reighlee] was beautiful inside and out and this is the type of thing she would have done," said Kristi Colley, Reighlee Stevenson's mother.

It's the community's support family members say is helping them through this tough time.

"Even strangers that we've never seen or ever met, haven't seen in years, the outreach to us is just amazing," said Colley.

Brightly colored flowers, balloons and pictures of the girls decorated the stage.

Family members and friends shared messages of love.

"People loved them and will remember them for the rest of their life because they're like family," said Dustin Peterson of Wausau. "Friends may not be family, but they're family at heart."

Organizers say they hope people can take away something positive from the tragedy.

"To think before they do something and just to go with your gut feeling," said Jordyn Schalow, an event organizer and friend of those involved in the crash.

But now they say is a time to heal.

Family members are collecting donations to help pay for medical and funeral costs.

Both Reighlee and Deserae have pages listed online. You can reach those pages by clicking on their names.

A former Rothschild policeman accused of breaking into a woman's home and having sex with her while pretending to be her boyfriend successfully completed a probation and a judge Monday reduced a felony to a misdemeanor, according to online Marathon County court records.

A former Rothschild policeman accused of breaking into a woman's home and having sex with her while pretending to be her boyfriend successfully completed a probation and a judge Monday reduced a felony to a misdemeanor, according to online Marathon County court records.